It all started out with mild abdominal and backpain... about 6 months ago. Family dr diagnosed a UTI and suggested fiber in my diet (basically saying I was full of poop) and sent me on my way.
Felt better, but it never quite went away. I figured, okay...I'm a nurse, back pain from lifting... reasonable. Abdominal pain...maybe something I ate, or cramps. Nothing too serious until a couple of months ago. Neither pain would subside... it was a weekend...went to the ER. Diagnosed with a large kidney stone, several smaller ones, and an ovarian cyst. The cyst went away on it's own, the stone was blasted... still hurt but was passing fragments. Reasonable. Back pain resolved, still having abdominal pain when the kidney dr says the stones are all clear.
Well, crud. I thought that was the solution.
Go back to family dr and basically tell him... "hey, those abcesses I keep getting, do you think there may be more to that?" Ask for a GI consult, but get a surgery consult. Okay, we'll see where that leads.
Surgery consult: Dr says there is a fistula. Surgery scheduled for 2 weeks. Colonoscopy and basically... we won't know what will happen from there until we get in there. Maybe this, maybe that. Probably this. The probably this is a fistula plug. I ask..how long will I be out of work, hoping a few days. He says a week, maybe longer, no way of telling because different people react differently, and besides he's not even positive what he's going to do. Maybe nothing. He keeps mentioning "sending me down the road." Well, what the heck is down the road? Someone in town that knows more than you do? Because if that's the case I'll go there now. No, "down the road" is a hospital 2 hours away.
For those who don't know what a fistula is... it's an abnormal opening. In my case it is near the rectum. What this means is I have an opening near my behind that is constantly uncomfortable, but not really painful. Unless it abcesses...then, well..ouch. Does it have to be taken care of? No. Should it be taken care of? Yes... it will lead to more abcesses, which could lead to being septic. Then there is the issue of what caused it. Might be something simple as an internal abcess, maybe something more serious.
Now, I'm a nurse. Maybe that's part of the problem. If something needs to be done I want to know the where, what, and when. I don't like the feeling of not knowing until they are there, but I understand that's really the only way of knowing for sure. However, if I'm in sleepy world I really don't want any medical decisions left to my husband, who will tend to agree with whatever the doctor says is right. I've spoken to several nurses, but this is an uncommon problem and no one really knows much about it. I've read lots about it on-line, and there are varying testiments about what worked and what didn't.
So, if anyone has any suggestions or knows anything about fistulas en ano I would love to hear your story.
But, my reall problem is this. I'm taking my son on a short Disney vacation mid-November. Six weeks after the surgery. By myself. I'm scared that I will use all my vacation time being ill (3 weeks) or that I will still be in pain when it's time to go. I don't want to postpone this vacation. I'd rather postpone the surgery, but even though I know my health > Disney.
Sorry, so long. Essentially this is a vent more than anything else, but I'd love to hear any feedback or suggestions anyone may have.
Felt better, but it never quite went away. I figured, okay...I'm a nurse, back pain from lifting... reasonable. Abdominal pain...maybe something I ate, or cramps. Nothing too serious until a couple of months ago. Neither pain would subside... it was a weekend...went to the ER. Diagnosed with a large kidney stone, several smaller ones, and an ovarian cyst. The cyst went away on it's own, the stone was blasted... still hurt but was passing fragments. Reasonable. Back pain resolved, still having abdominal pain when the kidney dr says the stones are all clear.
Well, crud. I thought that was the solution.
Go back to family dr and basically tell him... "hey, those abcesses I keep getting, do you think there may be more to that?" Ask for a GI consult, but get a surgery consult. Okay, we'll see where that leads.
Surgery consult: Dr says there is a fistula. Surgery scheduled for 2 weeks. Colonoscopy and basically... we won't know what will happen from there until we get in there. Maybe this, maybe that. Probably this. The probably this is a fistula plug. I ask..how long will I be out of work, hoping a few days. He says a week, maybe longer, no way of telling because different people react differently, and besides he's not even positive what he's going to do. Maybe nothing. He keeps mentioning "sending me down the road." Well, what the heck is down the road? Someone in town that knows more than you do? Because if that's the case I'll go there now. No, "down the road" is a hospital 2 hours away.
For those who don't know what a fistula is... it's an abnormal opening. In my case it is near the rectum. What this means is I have an opening near my behind that is constantly uncomfortable, but not really painful. Unless it abcesses...then, well..ouch. Does it have to be taken care of? No. Should it be taken care of? Yes... it will lead to more abcesses, which could lead to being septic. Then there is the issue of what caused it. Might be something simple as an internal abcess, maybe something more serious.
Now, I'm a nurse. Maybe that's part of the problem. If something needs to be done I want to know the where, what, and when. I don't like the feeling of not knowing until they are there, but I understand that's really the only way of knowing for sure. However, if I'm in sleepy world I really don't want any medical decisions left to my husband, who will tend to agree with whatever the doctor says is right. I've spoken to several nurses, but this is an uncommon problem and no one really knows much about it. I've read lots about it on-line, and there are varying testiments about what worked and what didn't.
So, if anyone has any suggestions or knows anything about fistulas en ano I would love to hear your story.
But, my reall problem is this. I'm taking my son on a short Disney vacation mid-November. Six weeks after the surgery. By myself. I'm scared that I will use all my vacation time being ill (3 weeks) or that I will still be in pain when it's time to go. I don't want to postpone this vacation. I'd rather postpone the surgery, but even though I know my health > Disney.
Sorry, so long. Essentially this is a vent more than anything else, but I'd love to hear any feedback or suggestions anyone may have.
